On February 24, 2021, in the Eastern District of Texas, James Mwanza was sentenced for wire fraud. Mwanza devised a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and obtain money by filing fraudulent tax returns. Mwanza was indicted on June 18, 2020, for wire fraud, theft of Government money, and aggravated identity theft. He pled guilty on November 19, 2020.

According to the court documents, between approximately January 2020 through April 2020, Mwanza presented himself as a tax preparer and unlawfully obtained, from his employer and other sources, individuals' means of identification, which included their names, birth dates, and Social Security Numbers. Additionally, Mwanza illegally obtained IRS Electronic Filing Numbers assigned to tax preparation firms not affiliated with him. Mwanza used the information he obtained to electronically file tax returns and claim false tax refunds totaling $7,814. The filing of the false tax returns also triggered the issuance of Economic Impact Payments totaling $3,400, which he retained.

Mwanza was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, ordered to pay $5,800 in restitution, and a $100 assessment fee.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D. Tex., Indict., June 18, 2020, and E.D. Tex., Judg., February 24, 2021.